It's notable that many of us here have very different perceptions of pet ownership

There are some very marked divides within our warm and fuzzy group, though we all try to get along as best we can ;)

What do you think has influenced your own perceptions and attitudes to how your pet should be treated? Are there any factors you think influence how you think others should treat their pets?


*ducks from crossfire* :D

How do you mean?

I treat my piggies with the utmost respect, I don't go trawling in amongst them unless I really HAVE to, they come to me if they want anything.

The rats come to the door of the cage if they want out (most of the time)

This is like an English essay question. I had to read it three times to understand what it wanted!

What has influenced my perceptions is picking up the pieces that people have left behind but also knowing when to ask for help and knowing to listen to the advice of people with more experience than myself.

I agree Sooz, thats why I stopped volunteering for the RSPCA, it upset me how badly some folks could treat animals

This is like an English essay question. I had to read it three times to understand what it wanted!
Yeah, sorry - I was a bit fed up with the tabloidness and throwaway comment type threads. I wanted a thread that needed thinking about before posting ;)



My own opinion of dogs is influenced heavily by my grandfather

He came from a family who bred and showed, but he himself chose to have a Jack Russell (don't forget these were non-pedigree then)

He always had an eye for 'a good dog', and would always greet any dog he met in the street (usually appearing to have some sort of dog-whisperer type conversation with them :) ) They seemed to gravitate to him, to the point they often spotted him before he spotted them :huh:

I grew up with common sense rules on how not to treat a dog unless you want to be bitten, and dogs were also expected to know they were dogs, though sleeping on the beds was kind of expected as a security blanket for both kids and dogs :)

I was brought up to understand how much a dog is truly man's best friend


My dad's family had a chained-in-the-yard kind of dog :suspect: I notice once in a while I can inadvertently tease Brude - then realise it's something I've picked up off my dad and check myself over it :mad:

My dogs are my babies, I treat them exactly the same as I treat my children. They are part of our family in every single way.

I really must get my glasses changed. I read the title as Do you have experiences of Pet Stew.................???

I think my attitude towards pets,like strix,came from how i was bought up. My dad used to breed cairn terriers during the 70's. He worshipped his dogs,but never treated them as anything other than dogs.By that i mean that they lived in (heated)kennels outside,were never allowed in the house,and we were made to treat them with a healthy respect.He taught us how to approach dogs,how to care and clean up after them,and how a dog needs loads of love and human contact,and a firm sense of discipline.

As soon as i left home i had a rescue dog as a pet,and have continued to have such dogs to this day.
My 2 kids have also grown up with dogs and have been taught the same approach that i was taught :thumbsup:
The biggest change i have made is to keep dogs inside the house(and,at times,our bed :rolleyes: ):hihi:

I really must get my glasses changed. I read the title as Do you have experiences of Pet Stew.................???

:hihi: :hihi:

the one thing i dont do is treat someone else,s dog like i treat mine.

My dogs are my babies, I treat them exactly the same as I treat my children. They are part of our family in every single way.



Poor dogs! :hihi:

My dogs are my babies, I treat them exactly the same as I treat my children. They are part of our family in every single way.

Lucky children! :hihi:

I admit that my experience with pets has been influenced greatly by my dad - he has a house full of four dogs, a cat, and four kids (not including non-permenant residents, me and my sister) and everyone in that house is treated equally. Granted the dogs are fed after the children, but the dogs needs are a very close second to that of any humans. The cat is equal to the dogs, most of the time :hihi:

My Dad is great with dogs, and always has been, and I think I've learnt from him. One of his GSD's of the past, Meg, dislocated his shoulder for him whilst out on a walk a long time ago, and since then he's trained his dogs not to pull, and all that.. having had no experience of my family keeping bun's, however, I am the odd one out and I will admit that. My Nan keeps cats, and Peanut is like a cat to me, in the way that I treat him, but he's also my 'child'.

When Bobby died it influenced the way I would treat any new buns I got, and Peanut is IMMENSELY spoiled but also checked over for health problems twice a day. He gets his stomach felt, his litter tray examined, his food and water consumption counted, and every other part of his body prodded and probed to make sure there are no problems. Losing Bobby was like losing a child, because I spent a lot of time with him, and I admit that at first I found it hard to look around my room and see Peanut and not Bobby. A friend came over with her baby today, (she's almost one) and wanted to let the baby play with Peanut and I came up with all amounts of exscuses that might stop her. I'm paranoid that the baby will actually hurt Peanut, and he doesn't deserve that, and I know I would never want to see that baby again if she hurt my baby.

I also have very strong views on how buns should be kept - my own bun when I was young was ripped into shreds during the night, so I don't think they should be kept outside, at all, unsupervised or not. I will be taking Peanut in the garden for one or two hours a day when he's a bit older, but right now there is no chance. Lol.

i only had a cat uptil i was about 4, but my nan and grandad always had dogs and i stayed there alot. They were alowed run of the house, we put our plates on the floor for them or fed them bits while we were eating, they climbed up and snuggled while we watched telly, slept with us and encouraged to kiss us ( big sloppy licks).

all my own pets have never been treated any differently, personally i dont see the point of pets that are made to live outside or are not allowed in the room etc.. i chose to have pets as part of my family and i wouldnt expect any other members of the family to have to sit in the kitchen or the yard.

My kids have always been brought up to know that kittens and puppies are not toys and are little delicate things with feelings and just like them they need sleep and dont need picking up every 2 minutes cos its buggy :D

Other people's views on dogs have also influenced my training of Brude

The number of people who complain of dogs being smelly, untrained, noisy, blah blah blah.....

Brude has been trained with visiting non-dog people in mind, and visiting hotels with us. He's cage trained, is sent to lie on a dog blanket instead of the carpet, has to ask before getting on furniture :roll:, carries his lead and sits to wait for fire doors to be opened in corridors - then sits on the other side too. If he's asking for something, a list is reeled off until he barks to confirm that's what he's asking for :)

My family think I'm mad, but they all think he's so damned cute and easy to interact with - as he communicates with people :D

heehee Strix, i spose i could be the total opposite of you then, cos i bring my pets up not giving a flying figgy pud bout none petty people. If folks come to my house ecpect to be slobbered on, find dog/cat hairs in their cuppa aswell as leaving covered in it :hihi: its my pets home not theirs and i dont make a habit of going to other peoples homes and complaining of the clean sterile enviroment :hihi: :hihi:

mine do the thing where you ask what they want, but we dont get a bark its usually jumped on and sqwashed or them running round going hyper. The one thing i DO wish is that they were abit more other dog friendly :( i havent ever brought them up to not like other dogs they just dont

I hope you're not passing comment on any houses you've visited round here, Litha ;)

I just need to train Brude not to bounce people to death when they come visiting, and not to shed hairs now :D

You could help out Litha - we need visitors to practice on :hihi:

I have no idea where my idea of pet ownership came from!!

With the cats, my parents adopted them when I was young and I didn't even know we were getting them. I had grown up with a cat so generally did as my parents did.
In that respect, I used to, just as my parents do, give them a fuss when they come to you, but generally live very separate lives.

However, I did get very close to one of the cats and not the other, I stayed away from Smitch who was very timid and didn't like being handled. I didn't really understand her and so thought she was quite happy being a very solitary animal.
When I moved out of the attic bedroom due to accessibility problems, Smudge, the cat I had grown close to, didn't come with me as she didn't get on with Smitch who 'owned' the 1st floor landing and bedrooms!

Now, I have both the cats in my room together regularly as I have since grown to understand them and spend more time with them.

The dogs were very different. I desperately wanted a dog and in order to prove to my parents I deserved one, I spent ages researching them, their care and training. I find canine behaviour incredibly interesting so it was easy to learn about them.
My parents are nothing like this and criticised me for my ambition to show, train to a high standard and apply for Takara to be a PAT dog.
They felt I was expecting too much from a dog and that when they were kids it didn't matter how a dog looked, they didn't show their dogs, they had needy dogs from rescues.

They couldn't understand how I believed a dalmatian could have different characteristics and traits than any other dog and so believed I must want one for their looks, but since having one, they've come to realise that they've never met a dog quite like a dalmatian and that their looks are purely a bonus.

My mum is quite happy to adhere to my training methods but my dad finds it incredibly difficult to understand that a dog doesn't respond to a tap across the nose and being shouted at.
He doesn't understand dog behaviour at all and expects the dogs to understand him.
Neither of my parents see dogs as a hobby, they do know that they are a big commitment and can be a tie, but don't see them in the same light as I do, I take great pride in my dogs and they share my everyday life with me.

I don't know where I got my attitude from to be honest, unless it was my parents not allowing me a dog and my desire to learn about them in order to be allowed one!!

oops that was quite long, wasn't it :blush:

Well I have grown up with yorkies all my life we had 2 and they were totally opposite to each other. But my dog is something else and my parents dont realise that you cant treat a staffy like a yorkie.

I suppose the inspiration for this thread was the feeling put forward by some of our 'rescue' members that it would be a small price to pay if we erradicated pets all together, to prevent anybody from causing harm to any domestic animal :(

I know this is because of the suffering they've been seeing day in day out, but is this a skewed view of the world?

What are your objections to other people and their pets?

There is no way that I could ever for go the companionship of a bunny. There is no way I would want to see them "erased". What is the point of helping save individuals if I would quite happily see the species extinct?

What I do want to see is more education, and that goes for vets as well as owners. There are plenty of people who provide a great home and life for rabbits and neither they or the rabbits should have to suffer due to the ignorance of others. Unfortunately currently this is what is happening on a day to day basis.

I would hate to live without pets in my life, but it also makes my heart ache to see the way so many animals are neglected and treat like a disposable comodity.
I believe it would only be a good thing for the breeding of all animals to be severly restricted, the stuation we are in now is heartbreaking...there has to be a limit put on the amount of animals being produced, really it is the only way to stop the mass slaughter of the unwanted ones :sad:

My love of animals stems from my parents. They loved all animals to the point of taking in pups and kittens they had found dying in bags, dropped into the nearby stream.
In spite of my... unorthadox sense of humour regarding my cretin of a cat, I certainly wouldnt be without him and we took him in to save his life in the first place, he was a runt, and ill treated and half starved to death so theres no way could we have just left him to die.

I hope you're not passing comment on any houses you've visited round here, Litha ;)

I just need to train Brude not to bounce people to death when they come visiting, and not to shed hairs now :D

You could help out Litha - we need visitors to practice on :hihi:

Heehee well i could be Strix ya never know :hihi:

not sure i could help tho cos as ya know i like to be bounced on ;)

I always try not to judge other owners - we all do things differently, however, if I feel that they are uneducated and their pets are getting a hard time because of it (and because they know no better) I try to inform them of how I would do it but not put pressure on for them to do the same thing.

If people treat my dogs in a way I don't like, I tell them, straight. People rarely do things that would upset my dogs, but they do things that upset their training and I do have a hard time explaining this.

However, while walking Takara through Fargate, I had two stall holders come up trying to fuss her, two grown men making the most ridiculous sounds and scaring the hell out of my dog. They asked me why she wouldn't approach them so I told him to stand up straight and just put the back of his hand out for her to sniff. When he couldn't do this, I said she was getting worried and took off.

I do however, often look at the way people I know treat their dogs (one man in particular) and pity the dog. One thing I hate is seeing parents tell dogs off for growling at a child that is dragging the dog around, or pulling on it's ears or fur - they're just signing a death warrant for the dog, at the end of the day.

However, I would never turn round to someone and tell them they're doing it wrong, unless I felt very strongly that it was damaging the bond between owner and pet and could result in major difficulties. I don't appreciate it when people tell me that I'm not doing things 'right'. I know my dogs, and am comfortable with how I treat them and train them. I will quite happily ask for advice if I'm unsure.

I have recently been talking to medusa a lot, for example because I know that my knowledge of cats is limited and don't want to be doing anything wrong!!

I got a bit too into writing a reply fro this thread andnded up writing 3 A pages :o Don't want to bore you with it all so I think I might have to edit it, or post it in the writers group. You inspired me too much Strix :D reading about your bringing up with animals and I couldn't stop writing.

Oi! Spit it out Jess!

It was meant to be a thought provoking thread ;)

Fair enough Strix, you asked for it!

Sorry for being such a long post, thanks Strix, found a thread that I could spend a lot of time over hence the essay question and all, am sure most of you wont read, but hay I enjoyed sharing it all anyway!

Ok, I suppose mine is going to be a bit complicated. It started with cats. I was born at home in an old farmhouse in Holmfirth with only farms around. My mum had cats that she was very close to. When I was being born one of her cats was crying outside the door but the midwife wouldn’t let her (the cat) in. After I was born my mum wanted to go and find the cat but wasn’t allowed. The cat was later found dead on the landing but no-one knows why. My mum always jokes that I am re-incarnated from that cat but who knows, I personally don’t dislike cats but they are not my preferred pet, probably too alike lol.

I spent the first few years around farm animals which are pretty much treated with not much individuality which is not my opinion is not right, however I have a lot of respect for farmers in general.

My obsession with horses started at 18 months old when I scared the **** out of my mum running into fields stroking horse’s knees and luckily didn’t get trampled to death, now knowing horses that would be the last thing they would have wanted to do but it could still have quite easily happened. I would do anything to be near horses from an early age. Now my mum thinks I’m a horse whisperer. I understand their mentality because I have learnt to and it has paid back so much.

Next came dogs. A fireman found a stray dog (you have to imagine now, living in somewhere like Holmfirth is a lot different from being in Sheffield.) The closest RSPCA wouldn’t take her in because they were full and the only option was for her to be put to sleep. My mum said we would have her for a week to find something more suitable. She was a beautiful black and golden Collie X, and became my sister.

My dad strictly trained her (unlike my dog now!) and she was the loyalist dog ever. We had no idea of her age or background when we got her, all we knew was she had bad teeth from a disease she had as a pup, so the vet had no way of working out her age. Lassie (firemen named her don’t blame me!) lived for another 13 years, saving my life twice, my brothers once and possibly more if you speak to either of them.

Growing up with Lassie taught me how much respect dogs deserved as they are a lot more respectful than most humans. She moved to Sheffield with us, where the whole horse love became a little more difficult, being in a city and all.

I had riding lessons, and then got horses on adoption from the sanctuary. I spent every weekend from being 8 to 12 up there looking after all kinds of animals in return for having a horse to myself. I disagree a lot now with the view of said sanctuary as I do not agree with suffering of any kind, and a lot of animals there were, and are in such a sad state they would have been far better to be euthanized than carry on suffering from their previous injuries inflicted by humans. I eventually left and rode a friends horse for the next few years. My parents couldn’t afford to buy me a horse, but I was just happy to be around them.

However along the line I had taken home 3 rabbits, (and 2 guinea pigs which my mum didn’t know about, I took them home in pockets and put them in a spare hutch, with dads consent, she was going to Cornwall! She didn’t notice for 2 weeks when she got back.) I remember getting up every morning early to go and feed the "gang" stroke them and check on them, and then get shouted at for being covered in rabbit hair and having to go to school.

I also babysat fox cubs, ducklings etc overnight waking up every hour to feed and check on, and had many more little critters on a temporary basis from the sanctuary. I spent time bonding with dogs, whose trust in humans just needed time and a second chance.

I suppose there is a gap then until my reptile love developed. I fell in love with lizards but was told I needed to learn more about them before having the responsibility. So I got a snake for a year, after learning they were less of a handful. I loved it, very different from furries, Buddy X stayed with me for a long time. I find snakes so relaxing and massaging.

For Xmas the next year my mum got me 2 water dragons, Ali G and Mijulie. They were amazing. I did everything to make them happy as I had with any other pet, they take a lot of looking after to ensure temperature and humidity etc all ok. They loved people, would jump about to come out of the viv whenever I came in, sleep with me all night if they got the chance, and were cute as could be, I could go on but getting upset as I miss them both dearly.

Ali G had many problems, I suppose for the dog lovers he was the runt of the litter, and eventually died aged 4 after many trips to the vets and special clinic in Leeds. Mijulie lived to 7 and they are both buried at my mums. I then moved to Ibiza which made me realize that the UK is a place of care for animals and I was proud to be British.

I saw a group of Spanish kids playing huck a duck with ducklings in a pond, with fishing hucks, it was sick, we stopped them, had no idea where the ducklings had come from, as they were playing with them on a fountain on the paseo. There is no RSPCA in Ibiza, there is no animal sanctuary, there is no animal rescue at all, just a small island with no hope for animals. You can imagine what sorts came through my door in the 8 months I was there!

Then I suppose came Rhia. I hadn’t ridden for years and my mum had spoken to a colleague that had a horse that needed exercising. So I started riding Rhia. I was in love, and I can’t explain it. She is beautiful, so well bred, so cheeky, so full of character and so much fun. 6 months down the line her owner decided to sell her as she needed a “mum” and she was always going to be second to her true love horse so, to cut a long story short….even though this is now becoming a long story, I bought her.

Now I was in control of the whole for paying for having a horse thing and have paid every penny she has needed since, hence me always being so skint! I am not her mum though, she is my best friend, and we treat each other with respect, we don’t even have to talk, I know she doesn’t understand English, but we know what each other is thinking. Me and Rhia will be together until one of us goes. I don’t even think I would get another horse if the worst was to happen and she would leave the planet before me, it’s not A horse it’s her. (Other half has fully learnt to accept this! She will always come first!)

I still have other pets in my life though. There’s Ekans (snake backwards! boyfriend being original.) My friend got a corn snake a few years after I had Buddy X, my first snake. She had to move to London and we ended up taking him on. Pretty big for a corn snake, lovely colours.

We have a cheeky bunny, Presently annoying the dog, usually annoying something! My brother was lonely so got a baby rabbit, far too tame sometimes. My brothers laminate floors didn’t do well with Smirnoff’s paws, even though he was spoiled rotten, so he came on a holiday with me to see if it stopped them getting so red and bald. He’s still here 2 years later, it was the constant sliding on laminate floors that were bothering him. By the time I have written the last few lines he’s stopped annoying Oz and is having a go at the TV guide… again.

We have little pig, a guinea pig I felt sorry for in P@H as he had poorly eyes and nose and no-one seemed to care when I pointed it out. He is currently being lazy as ever, lying down whilst eating a carrot, he was running around but I put him away after he once again got too territorial with the dogs bed. Which leads on to Ozzy the dog.

If I’m completely honest, me and other half decided not to go ahead with a pregnancy, which left us feeling very lost. We both wanted a dog, and one day went to the sanctuary to ask about options of taking one home. We wanted a small dog, don’t even know why now.

Ozzy was there, just got back from a walk. Poor little thing hated being in kennels and was whimpering and shaking. He had been badly abused and been left for long periods of time. The lady that ran the sanctuary (whom I had known for years) told us he would suit just fine, if he had the time, and really needed to get into a home. We ended up taking him home, not at all like the original plan of planning to have a dog! A year and a half down the line little Oz couldn’t be happier.

I haven’t trained him how my dad trained Lassie, but he is part of my family, he trusts we are not going to beat him, which has taken a long time. He experiences toys, which he hadn’t before, he loves his walks as any dog would, he’s finally relaxed in public places instead of being scared, quite understandably knowing his past, he is often called teddy bear as he loves cuddling up in your arms, and he keeps me company at work. The joy in his eyes means so much to me when I know things could have been a lot different for him. He has his friends aswell.

The rabbit loves him and they play with each other all the time, chasing each other. Little pig however is a bit too bossy with Oz and if you don’t keep a close eye, little pig will be sat in Ozzys bed with Oz looking up wondering what has happened. Why a guinea pig and a rabbit seem to have more authority than a dog is anyone’s guess. My guess is any animal that has been abused is seriously lacking in self confidence.

OH has the same passion and care for our family as I have, I can’t call them pet’s really. They get what they want, be it another chance at life or another carrot (with the only exception of the snake, he would much prefer a mouse.) I enjoy their time, they enjoy mine. They wouldn’t keep jumping up for attention on the settee if not. (Again, exceptions. Rhia the horse doesn’t live at home, but would definitely take over the settee if she did, snakes can’t jump and little pig just nibbles toes instead of jumping 10 times his height.)

So back to the perception of pet ownership. I don’t own my pet’s (Family) We own each other, each has it’s own needs which they get to a certain degree, (Rhia would love to be turned out in that lovely grassy field instead of the short grass field she does every day, I know it could kill her so she doesn’t get it, however the chubby little cob would disagree with me there!) Each has their own personality.

The way I have been brought up with animals has taught me to respect them, as they respect me, I hate the thought of animals suffering, however I have learnt to accept that this suffering takes place, and I can’t take in every stray and neglected, it would’t be fair on my family. (OH and animals!) I do my bit through various means, but just wish that everybody in this world had this same respect. I know I don’t know everything there is to know about keeping every form of animal, even the ones I keep, but I know I know enough for them to be healthy, safe and happy, and will continue to learn more every day, and that’s all that matters in my eyes.

Looking back I suppose I only talked about my experiences! But yes, I think our own experiences do skew our views on others.

A fascinating set of experiences Jess! And you weren't going to share them with us? :(

;)

Thanks, I wanted to share them, just thought it was a bit long winded for the forum! :P

i loved reading that Jess, thankyou for sharing it with us :)

;) This is an interesting thread. I have often thought that everyone here seems to have different views on pet ownership too. Having been brought up on a farm, I have been taught to respect animals and the importance of reading their body language. However, none of the animals were strictly pets. They all worked in one way or another. The dog was a very intelligent collie and the cats were good mousers. None of which ever went in the house. However, later on we did have pet cats (these were from elsewhere - not feral). I still dont quite understand why some people treat them as children, as, well, they arent but I wouldnt consider myself as harsh on animals. There's nothing I love more than hearing purring cats in front of the fire or on the bed

I was brought up with dogs and so it seemed natural for me to leave home and get my own dog (or several). I was taught to respect animals by my parents but I do think that you are born to love animals, irrespective of your upbringing. I now have dogs, horses, rabbits and a cat, much to my elderly parents dismay.

I volunteered for 14 years at a rescue centre and this is when I had my eyes opened to other peoples perceptions of pet ownership and exactly how much cruelty and neglect goes on in our throwaway society. I will never forget the faces of abandoned dogs when the owners dump them and never glance back as they walk away or forget the loyal cries of a dog pining for its owner (even if the owner previously beat it senseless). I will never underestimate the loyalty of a dog through these experiences.:(

Looking into the eyes of a sad terrified dog is something which will stay with me forever and why I am repulsed when I hear of yet another cruelty story or ignorant people, with no experience taking on the latest fashion accessory.

I find it hard not to judge people who are neglectful through ignorance which is why I usually keep my sneck out on some threads:hihi: